Session: Rising Stars of Mechanical Engineering Celebration & Showcase

Paper Number: 150703

150703 - Thermal Management of Electronics From Device Level to Data Centers 

Thermal management of electronic devices is critical for the reliable operation of semiconductor and integrated circuit devices. As the performance and complexity of these devices increase, the development of effective cooling solutions and the thermal characterization of device performance under various conditions become essential. At the Nanoscale Energy and Interfacial Transport Lab (NEITLab), we are engaged in multiple research projects on thermal characterization and cooling solutions for electronic components. One of our key initiatives is developing a two-phase evaporative cooling solution to address the thermal challenges associated with high-power components in next-generation data centers. This technology utilizes the latent heat dissipation of a liquid to dissipate heat fluxes exceeding 560 W/cm² using water as a coolant. In addition to evaporative cooling technology, we are creating novel structures to enhance heat dissipation performance in immersion cooling systems. Our research focuses on understanding the effects of non-axisymmetric micropillars in immersion boiling and testing these devices at the system level using immersion cooling chambers. Transient thermal management is another critical issue in power modules. To tackle this, we are developing a three-component phase change material for thermal management under transient loading conditions. This phase change material combines organic paraffin, which offers high latent heat, with the Field's metal embedded in a copper porous matrix, providing higher thermal conductivity. We are investigating microchannel flow boiling with integrated porous solid-solid phase change material for similar transient applications with extremely high heat flux. This approach aims to improve temperature distribution and reduce flow instabilities while enabling high heat flux dissipation for transient thermal management applications.

Furthermore, we are working on a novel pseudo-two-phase cooling with encapsulated phase change material slurry (created by dispersing micro-encapsulated phase change materials in dielectric coolant). This innovative approach mitigates traditional coolants' caloric resistance limitations by enhancing the coolant's overall heat capacity by leveraging the latent heat capacity of the phase change material. Beyond developing cooling solutions, we are also involved in projects to characterize transistor-level thermal management solutions thermally. Utilizing cutting-edge technologies such as Microsanj and steady-state thermoreflectance, we analyze different layers of materials and wide-band-gap devices like GaN. Our research includes measuring thermal conductivity and thermal boundary resistance across multiple layers and performing both steady-state and transient experiments to understand transistor performance under various conditions.

Additionally, our lab is developing software using physics-informed neural network models for data center digital twins. This project aims to create an efficient, cost-effective model for predicting performance within data centers. We also apply physics-informed neural network techniques to develop a thermal model for transistor-level GaN/HEMT devices.

Presenting Author: Damena Agonafer University of Maryland College Park

Presenting Author Biography: Dr. Damena Agonafer (Ph.D., Mechanical Science, and Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and the Inaugural Clark Faculty Fellow at the University of Maryland, College Park. He earned his PhD at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he was supported by the Alfred P. Sloan fellowship, Graduate Engineering Minority Fellowship, and NSF Center of Advanced Materials for Purification of Water with Systems (WaterCAMPWS). After his PhD, Damena joined Professor Ken Goodson’s Nanoheat lab as a Stanford University Postdoctoral Scholar in the Mechanical Engineering Department. Before joining the University of Maryland, Damena was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Washington University in Saint Louis. He is a Faculty member at the Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering (CALCE), the Maryland Energy Innovation Institute, and the Center of Risk and Reliability. He is a recipient of the Google Research Award, Sloan Research Fellowship Award, Cisco Research Award, NSF CAREER Award, ASME Early Career Award, and ASME K-16 Outstanding Early Faculty Career in Thermal Management Award. He was also one of 85 early-career engineers in the US selected to attend the 2021 National Academy of Engineering's 26th annual US Frontiers of Engineering symposium. His seminal work on the microdroplet evaporator for two-phase cooling was recently awarded a patent by the US government.

Authors:

Damena Agonafer University of Maryland College Park